Death Defying
by Becky99
Summary: What is the price of love in outer space? Are sacrifices in its name necessarily a good thing? Can we really say what is right and wrong? An exploration.
1. Chapter 1

**Death Defying**

_Hi, this fiction is written by Dixie and myself. We have sent it back and forth for months. Because she is very busy, Dixie asked me to place it in my name (although the idea was entirely hers). I was reluctant because I already have so many fictions on ... But, in the end, I said I would - just so we can get it on here before Christmas. I hope you will forgive/tolerate yet another fiction from Beck1999! Thanks._

* * *

**_PART ONE_**

His face was burned. No, not just charred but half dissolved away, melted by the intense flames caused by a horrific disaster. And it was not just his face but the man's naked body underneath a therapeutic blanket and monitor. Scorched, shriveled and broken – hardly human anymore.

There was an explosion in Section D-3, four men and three women killed. Three others were seriously injured – including Commander John Koenig.

He had been there, over-seeing a dangerous project to resolve Alpha's dwindling power supply. They used alien technology and if either Professor Bergman or Maya were still with them, they might have warned their Commander against the 'exploitation of misrepresented certainty'. Everyone, including John, was so sure it would work, allowing the Alphans an indefinite supply of power when – eventually - the moon reached the end of yet another discouraging solar system.

On the moon's current trajectory, their supply of human-life sustaining planets was running thin.

In private, a few evenings before the tragedy, he told Helena their luck could last for only so long. One day there would be no more planets, new potential homes for the people of Moonbase Alpha. Sustaining life was now paramount, starting anew with good health, prospects and children …

Helena winced a little when he mentioned offspring. Maya, her dear alien friend, had died during childbirth, taking she and Tony's baby with her. But before she left them the Psychon whispered to Helena that she should not be afraid. Maya urged Helena to have her own child. Helena wished she could comply but it was not that easy. She made a promise to John …

Tony Verdeschi joined his wife not long after, the victim of violence when Alpha's green-sickness was at its worst. Security, getting the upper hand, did not see the assassin in their midst. Tony did not stand a chance and died from the laser blast. The other man also died when his fire was returned by others in the security division. Some Alphans believed Tony wanted to die, life holding so little meaning for him now that his beautiful wife and son were gone.

John and Helena had both grieved deeply at the loss of their friends – and found comfort in one another's arms. Their love-making had become intense, emotionally passionate, and they cried while embracing. Victor, Paul, Kano, Tanya, Maya, Tony ... So many. It was unfair ... so unfair ...

Their numbers were dwindling, now down to two hundred and forty-nine men and women. Life on Alpha had to change. They needed something to strive for and _had_ to reconsider what it was being an Earthling, living on the moon.

"We have to take chances." John had urged his command staff, "I see that now."

Despite the explosion, a week ago now, the Alphans had learned from the error. Moonbase Alpha's power had been sustained, improved upon, and the wandering moon prospered. In the end, the unfamiliar technology had worked, even if more precious lives were lost in its implementation.

Helena asked Dr. Mathias and Dr. Vincent to work on a program allowing births on the moonbase. She told them to talk with engineers and anyone else who had feasible ideas to improve life on Alpha. She also advised Command Center that digging could start immediately - and should. John would want that …

She was not the Commander, Alan Carter was their acting leader, but so many looked to her for strength and instruction. Even Alan, seeming a little lost in his unwanted position, came to Helena many times in the last week for advice. He knew she was already stressed, taxed beyond comprehension, but he needed her wisdom, just as John Koenig did.

There could still be happiness on the moon if they adapt, making it a real home. Already, Helena had seen couples talking, smiles on their faces, thinking of an unconventional future … Optimism was all important. Koenig had pressed this during that command meeting and he was so right. Everyone looked to him and all knew if he, their proven leader, saw the potential they too should see beyond the disappointment. Making Alpha their permanent home - rather than finding that elusive world with trees, sunshine and fresh air – was becoming acceptable.

Helena took a breath.

_John …_

She watched him as he lay in his bed in Medical Center, skin waxy and eyes vacant. His life signs were not strong. How many hours had she sat by this bed, holding his hand, telling him – semi conscious but receptive with his hand squeezing – that steps were being taken to insure Alpha's survival. All he needed to do was rest and heal … She would be here for him – _always._

But he was dying and this time there was nothing she could do about it.

"Please try to hold on, John. Your people need you. More now than ever before."

"We knew this could happen." He told her during one of his more lucid moments, his full mouth now shriveled into a thin line, teeth missing, throat dry and his voice nearly a croak. "But Alpha is good … I only have one regret ..." and his fingers squeezed her own before John lapsed, once more, into oblivion.

She would never hear his voice again.

Helena sobbed. She had tried for so long to be brave and now, in his final minutes, she could only kiss his hand, the one that had not been burned to the bone, and tell him she loved him.

Mathias and a nurse stood in wait. Alan Carter and Sandra Benes were close too.

Helena blocked them out. For her it was only she and John. She loved two men in her lifetime and had lost them both to space. "What am I going to do without you?" she whispered.

_"You'll go on … live … love again." _

She heard him in her head. "No." Helena could not prevent the tears from falling. _Never again._

He took a breath and the monitor above his bed blipped for the last time then lined out. His hand fell away, slipping from her own.

**_No! _**Helena's heart cried. Her head lowered, her forehead gently touching the back of his hand, "Please … please … bring him back." She prayed.

_"Do you really want him to return?" _

For one brief-moment Helena thought she had imagined the voice. But everything had grown dark around her. She saw nothing but John laying in the bed and blackness. "What?"

_"WHY should he return?"_

"Alpha needs him." Helena replied, not yet questioning where the voice was coming from. It was soft but could come from either a man or woman, "We are lost without him."

_"You are speaking from a personal point of view, Dr. Russell. In truth Alpha could survive without Commander Koenig but you feel_ you_ cannot."_

"I can't agree." Helena quickly retorted. She did not know why she was arguing with what could only be an imaginary voice but, somehow, knew it was important. "So many others would be lost without our Commander."

_"Oh?"_

"Always, when life got too challenging he was there. A strong, driven man. His people look up to him – even when they are unsure of him. He was …_ is_ reassurance and security." Helena sobbed, "And now, with so many things happening, with so much that could go wrong, they have no one really to look to for guidance …"

_"What of you and Captain Carter?"_

"It's not the same. They need their Commander; the man who has been here from the beginning. John Koenig is what keeps Alpha glued together."

_'But your lives _are_ better now. This new power source will get your base through the most difficult of occurrences. Men and women can now have families."_

"And that can fall apart so easily without the right leadership. John … John would see to it that we prospered even if others think we are doomed. There is something so special about him. He never gave up. He never will."

_"Yes …" the voice said, "I can see that."_

Helena gulped. _Who_ was she speaking with?

_"You understand, if we give you back your Commander - there is a price."_

"You can save him? What price?"

_"Does it matter?"_

Helena nearly panted, looking into the black void, feeling hope but also trepidation. "It does." She said solemnly and truthfully, "But I_ would_ give my own life for him to live again." She closed her eyes in a pray gesture. John and Alpha could survive without her. She was but one of five competent physicians on Moonbase Alpha. Helena sincerely believed Alpha was still in jeopardy without him. John Koenig was vital to the human race, the people once from Earth, and as much as Helena wanted to believe herself courageous and strong in the face of tragedy, she knew her broken heart would never heal. Simply put, there was no living without him ... Or perhaps - another voice intruded - it _was_ her grief that made her believe so strongly in his value and so little of her own importance.

_"There are two ways to get what you want, Doctor; worth and sacrifice. When it comes to whether Commander Koenig is worthy enough to come back from the fate he was dealt, it cannot yet be determined. But if you are willing to make a grand sacrifice … we will return him to life. It would be as if the explosion never happened."_

Helena listened to their proposal. Lives, not just John's, would be saved.

Yes. She would agree to their offer, whoever they were.

* * *

_**Go to Part Two.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**PART TWO.**

Thirty years passed.

He held the hand of his grandson as they walked from the child-care unit to his parent's home in Section M-12, in the deep underground of Moonbase Alpha's apartment complex, Helena-9.

"Did you pass the spelling test?" John Koenig asked the boy.

"Of course I did." The ten year old replied. "I always do. I'm the best in my class."

Ethan was very smart and John, amused, should have known better than to ask. Still, he thought, the boy might benefit from a course in humility, maybe one of the other children beating him at his own game. Still, one day he might make a good Commander of Alpha. Confidence was important.

Koenig reconsidered. He suspected Ethan's interest was in the sciences. Already, he was superior to many with regards to his knowledge of the cosmos. He had even made a list of questions for his educator, asking difficult questions that even Professor Ibsen had to search the memory banks of Computer for the correct answers.

Sadly he, like many of the children, really was not interested in hearing about Earth. It did not matter to him as a third generation Alphan, a child of the moon, to hear about his ancestors errant past. John could remember his daughter's vague interest when she was a girl. They looked upon Earth as a history lesson – but little more.

The child's superior expression dissolved when he saw his mother, "Ma!" He ran to her, a smile on his face, into the arms of the exhausted woman.

She crouched and took him into her arms, hugging Ethan tightly before releasing him. Quietly, she told him to go into the flat and eat lunch while she spoke with the Commander. "Hi Dad." She put an arm around him, blond ponytail bobbing, and gave John a quick but tired hug, "Sorry but I've pulled heavy shifts in Medical Center since Abigail and Dr. Morgenstern had their twins. Hope Ethan hasn't been too much of a hand-full."

"No, he's a good boy." Koenig said and smiled at the woman. The older she got the more she looked like her mother. "Have you heard word from Darrin?"

"He's still digging with the other engineers." She blinked, both annoyed and understanding. "He said they probably have another week." Sarah half-smiled, "Ethan and I miss him but once Helena-21 is opened and the new apartments built, we will be able to spend more time together as a family."

"I wish things were easier for you, Sarah." Koenig said, "Even during our busiest times your mother and I were able to spend quality time together." His eyes dimmed a little at her memory, sorry he had mentioned it when his daughter looked uncomfortable.

Her mother had died many years ago. Sarah had seen photographs of her and so many told her what a wonderful woman she was; how she had been instrumental in keeping their moonbase alive during those early years when it could have been destroyed at any given moment. Dr. Helena Russell-Koenig had been a beautiful woman, accomplished and much-loved, and someone Sarah never felt she could live up to.

Some said she looked like her but Sarah, as a girl, had stared into a mirror and could not see the resemblance. Sarah knew from a young age that she would one day be a doctor and remembered her father telling her how proud her mother would be of her. 'Perhaps." Sarah thought, "Or perhaps she would feel anger because her daughter was never going to rise above a surgeon." No, Dr. Sarah Soback, daughter of two highly respected command figures, would never become Alpha's CMO. She didn't have the stomach or ambition for it. Being a doctor was not a passion for her. It was a job. Nothing more.

Briefly, as she had done many times during her life, Sarah wondered if she had also failed her father.

There was always such love in his eyes when he mentioned Helena. He had never taken up with another woman after her demise, after that terrible accident that nearly killed her – allowing Helena to live long enough to give birth to she and John Koenig's only child. It amazed all that Sarah had not just come out unfazed or scarred by the accident but healthy and happy. Her father told her she barely cried as a baby and it was always a pleasure to be around her – even if he was deeply grieving at the time.

Sarah had never known him before her mother's death but some of the older Alphans, including Alan Carter, said he was far more dynamic when Helena was by his side. When they had fallen in love, John's sense of humor and obvious happiness was clear. After her death, despite having a beautiful daughter, John had become much like he was just after Alpha left Earth orbit; stern and driven. He remained a good leader who did not allow his private demons stop him from continuing their expansion project.

And he loved Sarah. That too was obvious. Without her, despite his resolve, he might not have survived those years of aloneness. That was what Pamela, one of the older Command Center staff personnel, had told her.

Alan also said that the day John was told by the dig-team that each opening of a new living space would be dubbed "Helena" in Dr. Russell's honor; tears had formed in their stern Commander's eyes. He was deeply moved and pleased by the engineers' gesture.

"There is going to be a party at the park near Helena-6. It's Iesha Sugimoto's birthday. I promised Ethan we would go. Want to come with us, Dad? They're having cake."

"When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Can't." he said, "I have a walk-through in Hydroponics. It's their new synthesizing device. Promised I would be there to cut the ribbon."

It amazed many that John Koenig had remained their Commander after so many years. It did not surprise Sarah. He was still wise and brave; every inch a command figure. He could not do the heavy lifting he once did, commanding all sections of the expanded Alpha, so he delegated. But his mind was still sharp and, despite the sadness in his life, John Koenig still exuded confidence in their future.

Sarah wondered, not for the first time, what Moonbase Alpha would have done without him. What would she have done without him? Sarah brought her arms around her father's neck and gave him an affectionate hug, "Bye, Daddy. Don't make yourself so scarce. Ethan misses those family meals with you. And so do I."

He nodded, smiling mildly. "Bye, honey." He watched as she entered into her home. When the door opened he could hear Ethan calling for her …

Koenig turned around, his smile fading, and put a hand to his aching chest. As he walked to his solitary quarters he thought about - as he had so many times in the past - the birth of his beautiful child and the death of the woman he loved … He then lay down, sleeping, and dreaming of a planet with trees, blue sky, fresh air - and she was waiting for him.

* * *

_"And that evening, at the age of seventy two years, the Commander will die_." The voice told her.

"But Alpha will thrive." Helena nearly smiled. And John will live a long, productive life …

_"A lonely life."_ The voice had read her mind, _"A very lonely life."_

"He will have his people and our daughter …" Helena shook her head as if the fantasy had finally made itself known, "That is impossible." She finally said and looked about the darkness, "I'm not pregnant. I'm not having a baby. John and I talked and agreed that a woman my age …"

_"You are fully capable of baring a child, Doctor. If we were to change this current time-line … a child will come."_

"When will it happen? When will I – die?"

_"Next year at this time."_

"But until then John will live. We will have a full year together?"

_"Yes. Do you agree?"_

_He must live_. Helena gulped, "Yes." She said, "I agree."

There really was no other choice.

* * *

**PART THREE****:** soon to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**PART THREE****:**

"No …" She thrashed in her sleep. There were bodies, charred remains of men and women. She could hear his voice: _'We must change … must look into the future … must expand ..!' _Then the explosion, throwing him like rag doll to the other end of the cavern; burned, bloody and broken … _dying_. "John!" she cried, trying to reach him through the fire and smoke … her Commander, friend, lover … husband … "John!"

"Sh." came a voice, pulling her out of the nightmare. "I'm here." She felt a tender hand on her cheek, a warm body next to her own in their large, comfortable bed. "It's a dream, Helena. Just a bad, bad dream."

They were on Alpha, in their shared quarters, and it was what passed for nighttime on the moonbase.

Yes, a dream and one she had more than once. When Helena mentioned the reoccurring nightmare to Dr. Mathias he told her it was stress. They were all experiencing the pressure of deadlines and, he reminded, for Helena there was another reason for worry.

Her eyes opened wide and she was looking into his. "Oh." It was late. She reached out and traced a confused finger from his bottom lip, over his firm jaw, then let the hand fall to his chest, where his pajama top parted. "You're here." She said, still slightly puzzled.

"Of course I'm here." John Koenig's voice was gentle, "Where else would I be?"

She could just see a trace of his smile in the dim light. _'Gone?'_ Helena did not say it but the dream had been so vivid. She pulled him into her arms for a long embrace, fighting tears. "I am so glad you are here with me tonight." She murmured but was not altogether certain why relief was flooding over her like a crashing wave on the seashore. It happened every time she had this vision. It _was_ just a nightmare – a phantasm! She told herself this over and over.

After awhile, he lay back and held her in his arms, "You've been under a lot of strain." John whispered, "But the expansion is going well, Helena. We are making great headway." He yawned, "We have a future …"

"I know." She reached up and stroked the side of his neck, still shaken. Food expansion and medical care had improved as well – all thanks to kindly alien know-how; those who had come and offered the Alphans support. _'Would you believe a friendly alien?'_ The late Tony Verdeschi's voice entered into Helena's mind and she could not stop a small smile despite trepidation and sadness at his memory.

John then added, just before he fell off to sleep again, "The first phase will be constructed, up and ready, by the time our baby arrives …"

* * *

Three months had passed since Dr. Mathias told them she was expecting. It had been a 'happy accident' and the Commander could fault no one but himself and a wild night of affectionate abandonment - where he and Helena, groggy with sleep but giddy with the excitement of finally having time alone together, forgot themselves in passion.

Helena had warned John weeks before conception that her implant had been removed. She had developed a mild infection and although she was nearly cured, there was still a little discomfort. It was a good idea for her to be without the birth control device – "just for awhile". When she was feeling better and they wanted to indulge in intimate romance it would be up to him to supply protection until her IUD was inserted again.

It was really not much to ask for under the circumstances. Her attention was elsewhere. Helena was preparing for their wedding, which would take place three weeks later.

Initially, it was going to be a quiet affair, Alpha's Commander and CMO were finally making it official, although it had been obvious they were a couple for the last few years. It would be a discrete ceremony with an officiator, themselves and a few close companions. Both were happy with that setup. No muss. No fuss.

But Sandra, Alibe, Pamela and Kate told them it _had_ to be big; and broadcasted through-out Alpha. Their wedding was a much-needed celebration for those Alphans who had worked so hard on the base's expansion, tunneling and making preparations. Their wedding could be a needed day off, a holiday, and would go a long way in building optimism. Excited, the women had volunteered themselves as their wedding coordinators and approached him at his desk in Command Center.

"It's the symbolism, Commander." Sandra had pressed, her small hands holding a clipboard and looking every inch a professional wedding planner. "You and Helena are taking the next step in your relationship …"

"Signifying …" Alibe stepped in, gazing at her own notes, "… your greatest certainly that Alpha is headed in the right direction."

"It's true, Commander." Pamela added, behind Sandra. The operative's smile was bright and she appeared pleased that she was also involved in such an important project. "Your wedding will convince others who have held off on the idea of marriage and children. There are still some that are not really certain they should take the chance. Now, if it is vividly displayed that our Commander …"

Kate chimed in, "… and Dr. Russell _are_ taking that chance then certainly they can too!"

The four smiling women stared at the Commander, waiting.

Finally, glancing once at a small photo of his intended which was on his desk, and getting a mild shrugging gesture from Bill Frasier who was working the pilot's console in Command Center, he said: "Okay." But had a feeling he would regret it. He told them to hold off announcing anything until he talked with Helena and heard from one more person.

Commander Koenig needed a strictly male point of view.

"It will seal the deal." Alan Carter had commented from his Eagle hanger, agreeing with the women when Koenig called to him and asked for further guidance. Alan laughed at his friend, at first, for thinking he might have an opinion when it came to marriage – seeing as how the pilot enjoyed bachelorhood so much - but, thinking it through for a minute, Alan said: "They're right. We could all use a break. Do it for your people, John."

Chaos followed.

Preparations had been distracting and between their duties in Medical Center, Command Center, the expansion and wedding plans, Helena and John had little time together. Poor Helena, John lamented, her attention had been especially strained. She was often pulled from Medical Center, into what the women had called a 'morale meeting', and jostled from one marriage-planning event to the next.

For two weeks there were talks of hair, dress, make-up, the hall, who was officiating ceremony, the honeymoon - and even the ring. Koenig thought that would be his responsibility but it was swiftly taken over by others (who obviously did not think he knew what he was doing) and given final approval by Helena.

When Helena's infection came up the couple acknowledged it, John understanding and was willing to do his part in their intimate relationship, but it was the least of their problems. Koenig finally had to corner the women and told them to ease off. Helena was looking and feeling harried and fatigued. For the most part, Sandra and her crew agree, humbled somewhat, and afterward only called upon Helena when they really needed her opinion.

Then that evening, a week before the wedding, John and Helena finally found time to be alone together. It was very romantic, holding one another close, loving – and _protection_ was lost in the shuffle … Neither thought about it until the following morning and even then it was met with a shrug. It was one careless evening. Surely nothing would come from it.

Two weeks after their wedding it was discovered that their daughter was conceived that night. Mathias had insisted on some testing before her IUD was re inserted and sure enough – Helena was pregnant.

Soon after, Helena started to experience morning sickness.

She and John talked. _No …_ Helena was not willing to give the baby up. She did not have to. Several women on Alpha had children recently, since the prevention was lifted, but she and John really had never planned to have a child of their own. They talked about living vicariously through their people and their families.

"I know I'm not twenty years old." Helena said, breaking the news to him, her head lowered ever so slightly. At that point they had so little time together she cornered him in a hall and pulled him aside. "But is it so wrong for us to have a child?"

"Are you certain you will be all right?" he had asked her, eyes imparting concern and a little guilt. If he had only been a little more careful they would not be in this position.

She stared at him, trying to read his thoughts. "You're not angry?" she asked, a slight catch in her throat. Helena could not completely blame John. After all, it takes two to make a baby and that evening she really should have asked him to prepare – but did not. Perhaps, in an odd way, she had manipulated the situation, wanting this very out-come? No, she was not that devious but perhaps subconsciously …

"The woman I love is going to have my baby. How can I be angry?" he added, "I just worried about _you._ Maybe it wasn't something you were willing to deal with because …"

Helena met John's eyes - "Because I never had children before this? It was all bad timing, John. Then, after the moon broke away, I never thought it _could_ happen."

"But it _has_ … and I'm happy. But _only_ if you are happy."

Helena smiled, "Yes," she said, "I am very happy."

Relieved and laughing, he took her in his arms, picked her gently up off her feet, and swung Helena about joyfully. John then held her close. The couple, in their own world, did not pay attention to those about them in the hall, looking at their command duo with curiosity. Obviously something good had happened and if it concerned any of them, they would hear about it soon enough over Alpha's news service.

* * *

As Helena's belly expanded she found herself exhausted and not as active in Medical Center. She would often slip on a white doctor's coat and make some cursory rounds, answering questions and even advising a doctor or nurse here and there. Yet, she found herself often fatigued and occasionally nauseated. John warned her she needed rest and to eat more, that while her belly was expanding the rest of her was beginning to look emaciated. It was an exaggeration, she knew, but Helena did try to take better care of herself for his and the baby's sake.

She relaxed often, took her vitamins and ate when she felt she could hold something down. But Helena could not help feeling an omen of doom following her about. It was crazy really, but she was starting to experience a deep trepidation. The nightmare, seeing John fatally injured in an explosion, was not helping. She now could count on having that dream at least once a week, with little variation. She tried not to think about it, to shake it from her mind, but it always came back to her. _John._ Nothing could happen to her John…

Then last week there was a change. In her dream there was no explosion. It was a cave-in instead. John had been directly underneath the falling rock and she raced to where he was, digging through dirt, tossing rocks away, crying his name.

But when she revealed him, unconscious and breathing shallowly – it was her own face staring up at Helena!

* * *

**PART FOUR** – _soon to come._

_We had a little fun with this chapter. There was a lot of doom and gloom going on - justifiably so - and we decided to allow a little bit of lightness inside. We could just picture Sahn and her helpers tailing Helena and the Commander, not allowing them a moments rest while they arranged their special day._

_Stay tuned._


	4. Chapter 4

**PART FOUR**_._

"Your hands are magic." She murmured, eyes closed, face blissful as it rested against her pillow. "Keep going. Don't stop." Helena lay on her side, the back of her pajama top pushed up to her slender shoulders, a drowsy smile pulling on her lips. "I would love to have you go on like this all night."

His reply was gently sarcastic: "I look forward to the day when you say the same things again under different circumstances."

Helena sympathetically laughed, sending a ripple through her fair hair. She could not blame John. It had been awhile and she missed him too. Meanwhile, she would take whatever pleasures life on Alpha and her husband could give. Helena's back and shoulders were getting a delicious massage. At nearly eight in half months into her pregnancy she was not just fatigued, and wholly ready to give birth to the life inside of her, but Helena's lower back and entire body were stiff and achy. "John, are you sure you have to go in tonight?" she asked, her tone hopeful with a falsetto of whine, "I need a foot rub too."

He pulled down Helena's pajama top and moved fingers up her back, hands resting on her shoulders. "Wish I could stay in here with you but I've already arranged to take time off to be with my family once the little one is born. By the way …" Koenig lightly pulled on Helena's shoulders causing her to lie flat on her back, looking up at him. "Have we made a decision on her name?"

They knew their child was going to be girl but a name had eluded them.

"I think we are now down to two." Helena thought, looking down at her swollen feet. "Elizabeth Maya or Sarah Susan." She smiled, and looked up at her husband, "Which one do _you_ like best?"

"Elizabeth is nice but seems slightly too formal." John said, now resting beside her on the bed, fully uniformed, an arm and hand propping him up to look at Helena. "But I like Maya as her middle name." He thought a moment, "What happened to Elizabeth Luna?" he asked.

"Luna has become too popular these days. Three sets of parents already have it secured as first names." Helena shook her head, "_Maya_ – It seems right." She smiled a little sadly. Her Psychon friend would have been so happy to see Helena having a child. Then, "We can call her Beth." She suggested, "Beth-Maya? Maya-Beth?"

John grimaced a little and did not seem so sure. "I _do_ like Sarah." He said, "Named after my mother … and using your middle name as hers. Still …" He shrugged, "I just don't know, Helena." If this was the hardest decision they had with regards to their child the rest would be fairly easy. He glanced over to where the baby's basinet was sitting. Helena had designed it herself. White and pink, it was a bit old-fashioned but Helena liked it, as did he. John placed a soft hand on her belly. Her belted blue pajama top barely fit in the final weeks of her condition. Right now, anything that made Helena content was all right by him. He just wanted the two most important ladies in his life to be healthy and happy

The new apartments were nearly finished, furniture waiting, landscaping worked on, the fountain tested, the artificial sun nearly completed by the technicians who were also working on a small tape of nature sounds. It would softly flood the courtyard, making everyone think of home … Soon he, his lovely wife and their beautiful baby would be among the first to move in. A few might think it unfair but it was also a confidence builder. If the Commander was willing to move his family deep below the moon's surface, to be with the first testers, then the rest of the Alphans should not be afraid to do the same.

He looked at Helena who was gazing over at him, attempting to read his thoughts, and appearing wholly amused. She rested her hand on his as it lay on her abdomen, "This girl will be thirteen by the time we decide on a name. We'll go around calling her 'Hey you …' until we do come up with something."

The couple looked into one another's eyes. He then leaned over and kissed Helena softly on the lips.

Koenig's comlock chimed, letting him know it was time to check into Command Center. "Gotta go." Reluctant, he parted from her and slid from the bed. John stood, looking down at Helena. He had heard women grew radiant during pregnancy. Helena was not an acceptation. He hoped their daughter looked just like her. "You get some sleep." he said.

"I always sleep better when you are with me."

Koenig gently touched her cheek then took some of her soft hair between his fingers. He really did want to stay but it would not be right. "Same here." Determined, the Commander took their blanket and tucked her in. "Sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He added, "Only go to Medical Center tomorrow if you are up to it. Bob and Ben have already said they have everything under control." Unable to resist, he leaned over and softly kissed her cheek.

Helena's eyes closed, "Un-hunh."

She fell asleep within minutes.

/

_It is time._

_It is cruel. A shame._

_The agreement was made._

_Yes. It was._

/

Helena awoke to the sound of a red alert alarm.

She quickly sat up and listened to Security Chief Kowalski's news as his deep, booming voice reported from the compost. A cave-in at the catacombs? Section E? Wasn't that where they were surveying for the second set of apartments?

"Currently the fault lies with a meteor that impacted with the moon several months ago ..."

Scurrying out of bed, Helena remembered that close call. The chunk of alien rock had come just a little too close to Alpha, a fragment of a larger meteor breaking off and landing about twenty miles from the moonbase. Alan, John, and Victor had gone out to survey the splinter and determined there was no danger, no radiation and a small sample had been cut and analyzed by Professor Bergman. Their science officer reported the sample 'friendly' and the moonbase fortunate to have escape with only frayed nerves. It figured such an incident, nearly forgotten, would now come back to haunt them.

"A fissure was discovered near Section E but it was retrofitted after tunneling commenced …"

Helena, as quickly as she could, washed up then slipped into her uniform. A loose-fitting white doctor's coat replaced her tunic, which had been stretched as far as it would go two months ago. Helena ran a fast comb through her hair as she slid on comfortable slippers over her swollen feet, replacing her boots for the past couple of weeks. She was then out the door and headed to Medical Center.

When the doors parted, Helena saw her doctors and nurses looking over three dusty men who were wounded, bleeding and coughing. All three were being given oxygen and one, she noted, had a broken ankle. "Report." She called.

Dr. Nunez's head bobbed, surprised to see Dr. Russell. "Cave in, Helena. These three got out but there are more still trapped. At least two others and …" He suddenly paused and his expression appeared uncertain.

"What is it, Raul?" she asked.

"No one can reach the Commander. We think he's down there too."

/

He tried to breathe in deeply but all the air consisted of was moon dust and a very limited amount of oxygen. It was also dark and only the light from his comlock allowed the Commander to see what had happened. When the quake started he heard one of the engineers call for them all to take cover.

The cavern was immense but Koenig had moved into an alcove, pulling engineer Cass Gilky with him. She was escorting her Commander about the cavern, holding a schematic and explaining where the buildings and plant-life could be placed. Suddenly, the area began to shake. He was about to ask Gilky, who was often in the catacombs, if this was common - moonquakes so deep below the surface - when the ceiling started to fall.

The next thing John knew he was waking-up, covered with dirt, and small stones. For a moment he thought he had died and was in purgatory. Then he heard Gilky cry out and he turned on his comlock. It was damaged but it still cast a light through its screen. Koenig wondered how long he had been unconscious.

He looked about for a moment but could see very little but piled rock and floating dust. Gulping and coughing a little, he crawled over to where the woman lay, hearing her gasp in pain. "Cass?" Koenig called, his hand reaching for and touching the hem of one of her pant legs. "Are you all right?" While moving, the Commander was gratified that he, at least, he was not wounded. No broken bones and only superficial injuries to his neck and hands.

She wheezed, "My arm's broken – and there is pressure on my chest … I lost my comlock …"

"It's okay. I have mine … but I'm afraid it's not functioning too well …" Koenig paused when he flickered the light on Gilky. She was a mess, bleeding from the head and covered with rubble. The pressure on her chest was a splintered piece of the cavern wall. "Let me get this off of you." He said and carefully picked up the stone and pushed it aside. He sat beside the engineer, where she lay, and tried to be encouraging. "A rescue party will be here soon." But his expression did not match his tone. A large wall of dirt had sealed the woman and himself into the alcove. How much air and atmosphere did they have left? John looked down at Gilky, wishing he could alleviate her pain. Even setting her broken arm would be a respite but there was nothing near for him to even attempt medical aid.

And the thought of medicine, of course, made him think of Helena. If he did not make it out of this one how would she and their child move on? Perhaps Helena would find someone else to be a father to their child? Or would she remain alone, never to look at another man, deserted, desolate, cold and …

"Commander …" Gilky whispered, her voice hoarse, "If I don't make it out and you do …"

"Cass, don't …"

"Tell Missy it would have been grand and I'm sorry …"

Koenig put a hand on Gilky's forehead, where she lay, and watched as she lost consciousness. He knew Melissa Smyth. She was one of Helena's orderlies but did not know until now that she and Cass Gilky had been close. It seemed that everyone had formed a relationship and who was he to think that Helena would ever be alone as long as she had their daughter and friends on Moonbase Alpha?

With a sigh, John stood and walked toward the fallen rock. He had no way of knowing how thick the rubble was, how much time he and Gilky had before their air was gone, but he had to try. Slowly, he began to fight his way through the wall, removing one large rock at a time.

/

Mathias had called him on his comlock the moment he realized what Helena was about to do.

He met her in the hallway outside of Medical Center.

"Helena, you can't!" Alan Carter was by her side, half walking and half racing with the woman as she made her way to a travel tube.

Helena carried a First Aid pack and her expression was resolute. "Don't stop me."

"John would have my hide if anything happened to you."

"You do not have to worry about responsibility, Alan. This is all on me."

They reached the tube door, waiting for it to part.

"Think of your baby, Helena." He urged.

She paused as the door opened, a hand automatically reaching to touch her protruding stomach. "Yes, a baby that may lose her father if I'm not there to help him. Alan, please …"

"A dig, medical and security team are already down there, Helena. At least wait until Ben gives it the 'all clear' before you go to the catacombs. John is a clever man. Whatever needs to get done he will already have it well in hand."

_If he's still alive. _Her eyes were imploring, Carter did not say the words but she knew what he was thinking. So far there was no word about Commander Koenig having been found.

"Besides …" Alan tried not to be cruel, "You would be a distraction, Helena. Can you really do that to John?"

She knew he was right. If their Commander was not hurt, if he was alive and fighting for his life with those who were with him, the last thing he would want to worry about was his foolish wife unwisely throwing herself and their unborn child into horrific danger. Helena could not push away the nightmare images, John hurt, covered by the cave in, and she fighting to rescue him, pulling trash away – revealing him … _her_ … dying or dead ...

"Helena?" he asked, concerned. She had gone pale and quiet.

Her eyes were glassy. "If anything were to happen to him, Alan, I'm not sure I could go on …" Helena started to sob and she felt his arms wrap around her in commiseration. Later, she would probably tell everyone it was her pre-birth hormones making her uncharacteristically emotional. John would find that humorous.

For now, Carter was content in being his friend's emotional outlet.

/

_And soon the fate of Alpha, its Commander and Chief Medical Officer will be determined._

_A price needs to be paid._

_Perhaps._

_?_

_Perhaps it has already been paid ..._

* * *

_**Chapter Five** coming soon._


	5. Chapter 5

**PART FIVE**

She wanted to be there. With every fiber of her being Helena wanted to walk down to the catacombs, into that large cavern, and search for the base's Commander. She could lend aid and do spot-on medical analysis when he and the also missing Cass Gilky were found. But Helena, Alpha's dutiful Chief Medical Officer, had agreed to stay where she was needed, in Alpha's medical unit until advised that John was found and there was no further danger.

Dr. Russell-Koenig, attempting to appear more essential than she felt, spent her time with the injured and their frightened spouses, lovers and families. She ran tests, smiled encouragement, and patted shoulders. All the while dying a little inside as the seconds, minutes and now hours, two hours to be precise, passed. The longer it took to find them the less likely it was that John and Cass were still alive.

She felt the baby kick on more than a few occasions, as if even their daughter was also impatient for news.

Two others had been found. One woman pulled from a pile of debris, suffering from lower back lacerations and aches. Helena had X-rays taken and medicated the technician with a heavy sedative and pain-killer. The other, who was working on scaffolding, had fallen and received a skull fracture. All things considered, the man's out-look was surprisingly good. So far no one was found dead and there was room, however miniscule, for hope.

When Medical Center quieted down Bob Mathias advised Helena to take a break. He promised if they became busy or if word of John and Cass was heard they would notify her immediately. "You need rest." he told her, taking note of Helena's haggard, heart-sick condition.

Helena did not want to leave but she really was exhausted and saw the wisdom in his words. She would do John no good if, when the word was given, she was too fatigued to proceed. Still, in their quarters, Helena could not lay down. She was too tense and uncomfortable. She yearned for his touch, for his wonderful back and foot rubs; for his closeness.

She made a cup of warm tea and sat on the sofa in she and John's living quarters. Helena sipped, rubbed her distended mid-section and pondered the past. She thought back to she and John's wedding. It was a mad, grueling, outrageous and ultimately joyful event. Sandra and her collaborators were running this way and that, and Helena – for a bit – felt that she was a character in some kind of surreal play.

When her wedding gown was presented to her it looked much different than the simple dress Helena was fitted in. No doubt this was because of her wedding planners in-put and knowing there really was not much Helena could do about it mere hours before she was to walk down the aisle. She was not pleased by their tampering. Still, when it slipped over her head, shoulders and skimmed down past her bust, hips and knees – she and the others were in awe. It was a long, sleek, empire-waist chiffon-like gown with off the shoulder sleeves and a V neckline, trimmed ever so slightly with lace and mock-pearls. It showed her as an elegant, dignified woman – no blushing bride – And Helena could not help being impressed by the ingenuity of their people so far away from Earth.

And it was _white. _

Helena had asked for the material to be a light gray, something proper for a two-times wedded woman to display herself in front of others on the happiest day of her life … Wasn't wearing white rather pretentious or improper? After all, not only was John going to be her second husband but she and her intended had been intimate for months. 'Hardly a virgin bride.' Helena could practically hear the voice in her head, quizzical and snickering. Yet, the gown she wore was lovely and, in the end, no one commented on its color. Helena was pleased.

Hair pulled up in a classical style, long slender neck adorned with an understated thin silver chain with a small sapphire (borrowed and blue) the effect was stunning. When Helena finally came into the hall, cameras running to broadcast to those who were working and unable to attend, Alphans filling both sides of the hall, there was a collective gasp.

"You're beautiful." Alan Carter said, by her side, taking Helena's arm to escort her down the aisle.

Helena felt a little self-conscious; a small bouquet of flowers in her anxious hands donated by hydroponics, and almost wished she had agreed to the veil Alibe had suggested. It would have hidden her face to an inevitable blush to her pale skin. But she focused on John in an impressive dress-uniform, not on the entertained faces of the people watching them, and managed a smile. He stood waiting, smiling in return, his eyes bright and only on her.

The Commander's hand extended, taking her from Alan, and the touch was warm and tender … "I love you." he whispered before their vows were exchanged.

Helena blinked and returned to present day. Again, she sipped her tea and took a breath, patting her belly. "And – oh – that honeymoon." she murmured to her unborn daughter.

After the ceremony and a jubilant reception, with many handshakes and kisses, they were off on their three-day escape. With the Commander's approval, two of the surface moon stations were evacuated and redesigned as vacation suites; the best off-Alpha locations the moon had to offer. Later, if needed for scientific research the buildings could just as easily return to their intended purpose. Nevertheless, with Alpha leaving this current solar system, with blackness and stars too far away to be a benefit, the buildings were refurbished for a more _useful_ purpose.

John later told Helena he would have eventually agreed to it anyway but, as fortune had it, they were the first wedded couple to truly get away from Alpha and enjoy themselves. "I guess you can call us its guinea pigs."

Helena and John Koenig took a moon-buggy onto the moon's surface, carrying bags of necessities inside, and made their way to bliss. Their scientists, technicians and decorators had done a wonderful job. The rooms were as impressive as any suite at the Ritz with a large bed, 'champagne' in a silver bucket, soft music at a verbal request and a wonderful sense of illusion. At the touch of a button the couple was surrounded by a sandy beach, another touch and they were encircled by a peaceful, rusting forest, and yet another had them in a tropical oasis in the desert.

There, lying in bed together, the Commander of Moonbase Alpha and it's Chief Medical Officer talked, laughed and loved. They allowed themselves to believe, for a short time, that they were in paradise - truly the only two human beings that mattered in the universe.

Too soon, duty called and the happy couple came back to Alpha. However, both were more relaxed and happy than they had been for a very long time. 'Rejuvenated.' Helena had said, looking up at her new husband with a secretive smile.

Helena jumped a little when her comlock beeped.

"Doctor," Raul Nunez called, "The Commander has been located …"

/

He had to stop moving rocks and rubble because he was getting dizzy and spent. John Koenig did not know how much air was left but finally decided there was not enough to warrant him expending energy on heavy lifting when, he was sure, his people were right outside the dirt wall in front of he and Gilky, trying to figure a way in without causing the premature deaths of he and the woman.

Sitting and resting, he could mentally see them all – including Helena – waiting and looking anxious. They would sojourn on. Perhaps it was all a fantasy in his mind but Koenig was never one to totally give in to despair. The Commander could not believe he had come this far to crash now. There was a future for them all. That had to include he and Helena and …

He looked over at Cass and felt regret. She had not awakened since losing consciousness but he could tell she was still alive, if only barely, by the labored breathing that caused her chest to raise and fall at an irregular pace. Koenig could hear himself wheezing as well and it reminded him of that time on the spaceship, Gwent. He, Helena and Victor had nearly died of oxygen deprivation when the ship decided it wanted to die, thus cutting off their only source of fresh air. He felt a sense of 'having been there' but also realized the feeling came from something more than memory. "Perhaps this is what all men feel before they die." He murmured, knowing only he and maybe God could hear his words.

Koenig looked down at his hands and counted his fingers. They were all there, he mused. His mind was wandering and he hoped and prayed his daughter was perfect, had all her fingers and toes, for Helena's sake. If he was going to die she would need something unflawed in her life. Helena deserved to find happiness; if not with her husband at least with their beautiful child. He wished them both well, no health scares and, for Helena, no deep grieving. She was a strong woman and would get through this. Alan, Bob, Sandra, Ben and all the others would help …

The Commander blinked when he thought he heard something. A crack or 'clink'. Koenig's eyes narrowed as he looked at the rubble wall. He did not have the energy to get up but knew something was afoot. He picked up Gilky's comlock, which he had found during his meager effort at bringing down the wall. Llike his own it was damaged but cast a low glow over their alcove. He pointed it directly at the wall and saw small pebbles dislodged … Either they were having another small quake or …

He could hear a hydraulic hammer. They had been found.

John Koenig smiled just before he passed out.

/

When the wall came down they did not know what they would find inside. Even when locating John Koenig and Cass Gilky there was trepidation until the area was secured and fortified. "Safety first." Alan ordered as he examined their Commander, pleased that he was – at least for the moment - breathing.

The medical crew was then allowed to enter. Ben Vincent and his team moved through the opening with two stretchers. After a tense few minutes he announced to Alan and their crew that both Gilky and the Commander were alive and most likely would stay that way. Both were loaded up and were moving out by the time Helena made her way into the cavern. By her side was Dr. Mathias.

"Life signs are strong." Dr. Vincent told them. "They were very lucky."

Alan and Helena watched as masks were strapped onto Koenig and Gilky's faces by Mathias and Vincent even as they were rolled out of the cavern.

"Helena, go with them." Alan told her, not liking the idea of the woman being anywhere near potential danger. He was not pleased with Mathias for bringing her down even though he knew, as well as most, that there were times when you simply could not tell Dr. Russell 'no'.

The Australian looked up and saw that the mechanics, technicians and hard-labor workers were already cleaning and reinforcing the structure. This cavern would not be used for future housing; having proven itself too unstable to warrant the risk, but it might make for a decent storage facility once they could be certain of its integrity.

"Helena …" he started when she did not as yet move.

"And there is no one else?" she asked. Helena was dying to do as Alan ordered, to follow John to Medical Center, but she was still the base's CMO and Chief of Life Support. She had to be sure all was well before she relinquished her duty.

Alan, suddenly understanding her quandary, touched Helena's shoulder. "They were the last." he assured.

Helena returned his smile and spun to leave.

"Look out!" came a startled call.

A heavy structural beam had let loose.

Helena and Alan looked up just in time to see it fall in their direction.

* * *

**PART SIX** coming soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**PART SIX**

_That beautiful dream _

_That wondrous, perfect future _

_Is all I've ever wanted _

_And all I will ever want _

Brandon Park

_(date unknown)_

_/_

He awoke to Dr. Nunez calling his name. Koenig blinked, tried to focus and when the image of the doctor came into clear view he asked, "Cass Gilky?"

"She's okay." He looked over, indicating another bed in Medical Center.

Carefully, Koenig sat up – feeling pain - and watched as Dr. Vincent and Melissa Smyth fussed over the technician. Her ankle was set and casted and although groggy and incoherent, the monitor above her bed read a strong heartbeat. Cass held Melissa's hand. When she saw her Commander awake she nodded in his direction and smiled gently. The Commander breathed a little easier until he looked a little to his left and saw Carter, also in bed and being tended to by a nurse. "Alan?"

"Take it easy, Commander." Nunez said, watching as Koenig threw his bed sheet aside and pushed his pajama clad legs over the side of his own bed. "You have body trauma, especially around the back and shoulders, and we just took you off of oxygen."

Koenig reached a hand to his chest, feeling a slight tightness there as well, but determined he came out of the accident in good shape all things considered. He said, "Alan, you were in the cavern when they pulled me out. I don't remember much but I do know you were there. I heard your voice just before I passed out."

"I was there." Carter confirmed, his face scratched and an arm was being fitted for a sling by an orderly. "A bit of bad luck …" He faded, gulping slightly. "John …" His voice quivered, groggy with medication and discomfort. "I tried …She … I'm sorry."

Koenig felt a prickle move from his lower spine to the back of his skull. It had nothing to do with his injuries. _Sorry? _He then looked about and realized someone who should have been there was nowhere to be seen. "Helena. Where is she?" If she was not resting in their quarters she would definitely be by his side. When Dr. Nunez did not reply right away, obviously reluctant, Koenig looked directly at him and demanded, "Tell me where Helena is."

"She is injured, Commander … and is having a baby."

/

"John! _John_!"

He was told to stay outside. His presence would do no good inside the operating theatre. She would probably not even recognize him, he was told. But her cries, as he waited and paced, were a distinct indication that Helena, his lover, wife and the mother of his as yet unborn child, needed him. John Koenig, the man and not the disciplined Commander, could not hold back.

"Commander!" Mathias called, both vexed and oddly comforted, as the man pushed open the theater doors and came to her bedside.

He leaned close to Helena's normally lovely but now contorted and heavily perspiring face. A nurse quickly slid a mask over his mouth and nose. "I'm here, Helena." Koenig reached under the sheet and grasped her hand, not acknowledging Mathias or any of his team. His attention was solely on his wife. "I am here with you and I'm not going away."

Alan, before he fell into a drug induced sleep, told John that a large beam had fallen from the cavern scaffolding and although he pushed Helena out-of-the-way and absorbed the brunt of the impact, the end of the beam caught her square in the upper chest. Her fall and the trauma of injury had brought on an early labor.

Koenig could see the large bruise that spread from her chest to her neck and shoulders, a contusion, and could only imagine the torture she must be going through. Helena's grip on his hand was surprisingly strong and he knew he had been wise to come to her. She needed him and his strength in much the same way he had needed hers in the past. Not for the first time he wondered what he would have done without her on Moonbase Alpha.

"I remember now, John." she whispered, gasping, eyes open and wild yet somehow concentrating on him. "She's going to be a good girl and you're going to be such a good father …"

"And you a good mother." He misapprehended what she was trying to tell him. Koenig now looked at Mathias, "A cesarean?" he asked.

"Not enough time, Commander." He said, "Not even for an epidural. She is giving birth _now_."

As he said this a strangled cry came from between her lips. This was no ordinary pain, not even the reasonable hurt of a woman in the middle of the worst, most raw moment of childbirth. Helena was in utter agony. Her grip was like an iron claw now and her entire body grew rigid then shook and with the effort of bringing their daughter into the world.

"Here we go!" Mathias did not have time to tell her to push. The baby simply slid out and into his awaiting hands. He cleared its breathing passageway and a healthy scream of annoyance met their ears. Under the mask, he smiled ever so slightly. "Your daughter is born." Mathias announced, "She is a little small but in good health – as you can hear."

Koenig felt Helena relax and he reached over, touching her damp hair, as he watched the nurses clean, weigh and measure the baby. "Helena, she is so beautiful!" He kissed his wife's temple. "You did it."

"I knew she would be …." The mild smile on Helena's face faded but her resolve was clear, "John, be good to her." Helena murmured, looking at him, breathing rapidly. "I will always love you. Yes, you and … _Sarah_ …" Her eyes gazed deeply into his own before they closed.

An alarm was suddenly raised right above Helena's head.

"She's flat-lining!" a nurse exclaimed.

"Helena!" Koenig cried as an orderly pushed him back and away from the bed. The Commander watched in unreserved dread as Mathias and his staff worked on saving Helena's life - but nothing they did made the monitor change its rhythm. Finally, the tiny blip grew weaker and weaker until there was nothing ….

"She's gone." Mathias took a deep breath and stepped back, nearly unbelieving. He had worked beside this woman for so long, knew her depth and courage. Bob always found strength with her presence there beside him. He pulled down his mask and his face displayed utter defeat.

"No." Koenig whispered, pulling off his own mask and hearing their baby cry as it was wrapped… "Helena, fight it. _Come back to me!"_ And finally his voice broke, his heartache unbearable. John Koenig leaned forward and buried his face in the pillow next to her head, sobbing.

_Do you really want her to return?_

A pause.

Koenig lifted his head, breathing irregularly. Suddenly, there was only he, Helena and darkness – and a voice. "What?" he asked, dazed.

_What would you be willing to give so that she should live?_

Koenig looked about the blackness but saw nothing. He was not a man too easily panic but both fear and wonder kept him still. "Anything." he said through his grief, tears still in his eyes. He knew he should be asking an obvious question but instead he continued, "I would give my life in place of hers."

Again, there was a pause.

_She would do the same._

_She has._

More than one voice, Koenig thought. A collective intelligence? John looked down at Helena and a horrible awareness dawned. "You came to her first. She saved me from the cave in? Didn't she? And …"

_Not exactly, Commander. She saved you from a death after an explosion one year ago today._

"Explosion?" Koenig was incredulous, "There was no explosion."

_And you have her to thank for that as well._

_You Earth people are very interesting; often so war-like and cruel. Yet, you are capable of such sacrifice and loving tenderness for one another._

_We never quite know what to expect from you._

_However, we are certain of one thing … The infinite universe would be a great deal less interesting without you _and_ Dr. Russell in it._

"Are you from the same people as Arra?" Koenig suddenly asked, unsure why she – the female alien he had once met during their early adventures in space - suddenly sprang to mind. "Did she send you?"

There seemed to be humor in the entity's tone: _Arra is but a cog in a machine too vast and immeasurable to comprehend, John Koenig._

"Are you God then?" he wondered.

_God would not question or wonder about humanity. God would know. _

_Live. For now ... just live._

_/_

**THE FINAL CHAPTER** will be posted soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**THE FINAL CHAPTER**

They asked him to write a biography, a book telling all - in his own words - what it was like being the Commander during those early years on Moonbase Alpha; their struggle for survival and the search for a new home. He had balked for years, paying no heed to the urging of his family and friends, but eventually John Koenig decided it was time to do exactly what the other Alphans had been pressing him to do.

Koenig had written many reports, of course, and did keep –for the longest time – a personal journal, which he referred back to often as he worked at his desk. The words he pulled together turned into sentences and soon there were paragraphs and chapters. Before he knew it, John had typed nearly fifty pages all about Alpha's initial breakaway from Earth; the politics, hope, friendships tested and the human emotion surrounding the event. That was ten years ago and only now was he working on the book's final chapter.

His daughter Sarah, who had become a fine doctor and educator, edited those initial chapters and she would be very proud of him now that the task was nearly complete. John Koenig's smile faded ever so slightly, thinking of her and missing her, but understanding the choice she made. Both she _and_ Collin were soon to return.

Koenig typed for some time but soon his eyes grew weary and, removing his spectacles, he rubbed them gently. He was in his office, a small private room on level three, and he took a moment to remember the day he stopped being the Commander of Moonbase Alpha. Koenig had held the position for nearly twenty-five years but knew he could not maintain authority forever. Other younger, more qualified men and women with sharper minds eventually took his place. There were three Commanders over the last fifteen years. One left do to pressure and the other for personal reasons. The last, Commander Rynsburger, now in his third year as their leader was good man, a Dutchman with a clear-thinking head on his shoulders.

Koenig remembered when he was born.

However, John Koenig was still Alpha's chief advisor and was often called upon for guidance. He had attended more than a few command conferences over the last several years. Now, even those were fewer and far in between than they once were. Back when Sarah was a baby, when the base was under-going initial construction, he was in constant meetings – to the near detriment of his personal life. He barely had time for his family and Koenig regretted it deeply. He made amends for it later.

Taking a thoughtful breath, John Koenig paused. Forty years passed since the birth of his oldest daughter. It was so hard to believe so much time had passed …

"Grandpa, where are they? Are they here yet?" Victoria had entered his office unannounced and excited. The ten-year old was told more than once never to interrupt without being asked in but she was an excitable young girl. "Are they coming? Grandpa?!"

Koenig could only chuckle as he stood and rounded the table, "The Commander told me he heard from the Eagle about an hour ago. They will touch down in about forty-five minutes." His voice was low and somewhat gravelly.

The years had been kind to Koenig, touching his dark hair with gray and allowing some deep lines on his forehead, but at the age of eighty-two years he was starting to feel the aches and pains of his advanced years. He might have looked and felt much older if it were not for the contained atmosphere of the moonbase. No one on Alpha had aged badly, he thought. And even those who had passed due to natural causes, age and poor health, looked well on their death beds.

He could nearly smile about that.

"I am so glad!" The girl was happier than he had ever seen her. "Uncle Collin has been gone for so long. When he and the others did not return last year we were so certain they had perished in space …" Realizing what she had said and who she said it to, Victoria quickly amended. "I mean, when Commander Center lost contact … you know."

"I know." John Koenig sighed a bit. His son and others had been sent on a dangerous but necessary mission. Eight years ago emissaries from the planet Monym came to them, the first aliens they had seen for nearly fifteen years, and only after Commander Dubov was certain there was no danger were they invited into the moonbase. Their planet was life-sustaining, they had told them, but many light years away from the moon. They were returning home and invited a select number of Alphans to come with them, to research their planet, and possibly return to the moonbase at a later time ….

_Possibly._

That word was what frightened many of them. The aliens explained that even with their advanced technology it would take two years to get to the planet, time to research, then another two years to return to the moonbase – if they could find it again. The Alphans truly had no idea what they were getting into – only taking the word of their new friends – but Collin Anthony Koenig, Chief Science Officer, was the first man to stand and volunteer. Three others, a technician, botanist and doctor – Koenig's eldest daughter - followed.

If Koenig had been Commander he might have balked but he could only recommend, talk with his children and their companions, and try to understand why they were doing what they felt necessary. Did they understand the peril?

Sarah was especially torn because she would be leaving her young son behind. Yet, if it meant they would find a new home, that he and the other third generation of Alpha might finally breathe fresh air and have a less tenuous future, she would do it. Koenig often wondered if it was because she was dedicated or because Sarah was never quite the same after her husband, Darrin, was killed during a construction mishap during the Maya26 development.

Her son, Ethan, was brave when saying good-bye but Koenig was later told he was heard crying in his sleep. He was ten then. Now he was eighteen and while he was attentive John felt he lacked a bit of the elation a son should feel for a reunion with his long-lost mother.

"Okay. I'll go keep Uncle Alan company in Command Center until we hear further word." The girl announced and was away from him as quickly as she had entered.

Koenig wrote about them … typing furiously … thinking about Alpha's departed. John was emotional and was certain his writing, the odd strung together thoughts, made no sense, just as it did not when he recalled that day … that awful … wonderful … day … when Sarah was born – and he nearly lost Helena.

/

"John! _John!_" she cried his name.

How could he stay outside of the birthing room when his injured wife was delivering and wanted him by her side? Before he knew what he was doing Koenig was inside the room and holding her hand. A nurse was placing a mask over his mouth and nose. He watched Helena, assuring her, as she gave birth to Sarah; their beautiful, glorious child.

But then something went wrong …

Her life signs were faltering. He was forced to stand behind the doctors and nurses as they worked to bring her back. It was not going well and Koenig watched in horror as the small blip and line above her head nearly flattened out. 'Oh please … please …' he prayed.

Then something astonishing happened ... She took a deep breath and Helena's life signs strengthened again. Whatever it was, whatever nearly took her from him, had heard his silent prayer … She was going to live.

"Helena." Koenig wiped away the tears and came back to her, taking her hand again and watched as her eyes opened, meeting his own, and she smiled. John recalled Helena whispering something odd: 'You and I … Our devotion did it ...' just before a nurse came to Helena and laid Sarah at her breasts, allowing the new parents to gaze at their accomplishment.

That Helena would give birth a second time, two years later, was amazing but that they should have another daughter, Amber Katheryn, one year after Collin was born, was even more remarkable. Helena's IUD was not working well for her, causing infections, and she was without her implant more often than she had it in. John did his part but, obviously, it did not always work. However, he did not want to see her further imperiled. Helena's pregnancies would only become more difficult as she got older. He worried about her and wanted her with him for a long time to come. John told her a month after Amber was born, as she was feeding the baby, that he was having a vasectomy. He hoped she understood why he felt it necessary. She merely smiled at him, supportive and grateful.

Helena had been thinking along the same lines and uttered a simple: 'Thank you.'

/

Helena was sitting on a sofa in their apartment, far below Moonbase Alpha, when he entered. She was reading and having afternoon tea with a few cookies on the plate before her. "Hello." She called, the light of the lamp beside her catching the lovely glint of her silvery hair and a tired but unlined face. He was not surprised to see her resting after the active afternoon she and the others had experienced.

Collin, Sarah and their companions had returned amid the handshakes and congratulations of their people. A command conference was immediately called for and Koenig was asked to sit in on their debriefing. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to them over the past eight years.

They were told that Monym was habitable but when the Alphans initially arrived on the planet, it was in the midst of a terrible global war. This was one reason it had taken them so long to return. All fuel was used for "the cause" and the reluctant Alphans got caught up in the chaos. They were lucky to have eventually made it back to the moon in one piece.

"It is my view," Collin said at the round table, "that Monym, although the people are hospitable in their own way, is too tenuous a planet for our people. Alpha would be better served in maintaining its own way of life until something better comes our way."

The other Alphans, those who had been with Collin in the Eagle and the others who were a part of the command staff agreed. The meeting was adjourned.

"They were gone for so long." Helena lamented.

Koenig nodded and sat beside her. He wondered, if faced with the same circumstances in those early months, if he would make the same choice. The children of Alpha, many now adult men and women, were not quite as desperate as Koenig and his people had been. A planet they could call their own was important and a wonderful goal but it was not met with the same desolation should it not work out. The newer Alphans had never been on Earth, had never breathed the air after a Summer storm or felt snowflakes as they fell and brushed against their cheeks and eyelashes …

"John?"

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, "Just thinking." He said, "How was Ethan and Sarah's reunion?"

"Touching." She said, "When Sarah left he was a child but now he is a young man. You can imagine how awkward it was. But it was also very precious."

"He never did quite forgive her, did he?"

"I tried to explain to him that she went on the mission for the good of Alpha but I think he knew better. He feels you and I are far more his parents than his mother ever was. We just need to give them time to get to know one another again."

John nodded but felt the same today that he felt then. Koenig could never leave his family behind like Sarah had. The very idea made him squirm. Were the children of Alpha less emotionally attached to those who gave them life and love?

Collin had never married, a prime candidate, but John recalled Helena talking with him, telling him how much she would miss him if he should go – and her tears. He had gazed at her with pity, patted her shoulder, but the look in his eyes was resolute. Koenig knew if she had done the same to him, had asked him to stay, he would have crumbled right there and never left.

Of course, some would argue, the difference was that she was Collin's mother and not his wife. If Collin had ever been in love he never said so but there was a time when John thought he and Sandra's daughter, Katrina, might have something together. It never worked out, however, and a year after Collin was gone Katrina married Guy Rose, Pamela and Derrick's son. Perhaps Collin would be a bachelor all his life, dedicated to his work, or maybe his perfect mate would come along later in his life, as it had with his father.

Helena looked up at her husband. "What will we do, John?"

"We continue our journey." He said. Koenig then added, "And I cannot think of one person I would rather have by my side than you."

"That is very sweet." She smiled mildly, knowing he must have been in his office writing. He always got sentimental after he worked on that book of his. "But what I was actually asking was if we are going to dine with Amber and Kurt tonight. We gave them a tentative yes but that was before we learned Collin and Sarah were returning."

"I know Sarah will want to spend time alone with Ethan for a bit. But I also know that Victoria, our intrepid grand-daughter, has already secured Collin's promise of dining with us at Amber's. So yes, we should go."

"And be a family again." Helena added.

"Yes, be a family." Koenig repeated, thoughtful. He then softly pecked Helena on the cheek.

Helena lifted a hand and gently stroked his chin.

/

_Why did we take it away from them? The planet._

_It could have worked._

_No._

_They will find their home one day._

_One day their story will finally come to a close._

_But not yet._

_No, not yet._

* * *

**THE END**

_January 2014_

* * *

**_At this time Dixie and I would like to thank one and all for your kind comments. We enjoyed writing this story together - despite disagreements here and there ;) - and your input has meant the world to us. Take care and until next time ... Most Sincerely, Becky99 & Dixie_**


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